1. Field of the Invention
Present invention relates to a socket for connection of electronic integrated circuit devices to a circuit and in one aspect to a top load socket for test and burn-in of bare dice and a carrier for supporting the bare die.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Integrated circuit devices (bare die or leadless IC chips) are finding wide spread use in the electronic industry and before they are bonded to a circuit the same are tested to determine whether the IC die is functional and that the electrical continuity is present between the various pads on the die. To do this, the die are placed in a carrier and the carrier is placed into a test fixture for test and burn-in of the die.
Top load sockets for IC devices are known where the device is provided with leads for making electrical connection to the contacts in the socket. One example of such a socket is U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,955. Direct contact between the pins of the socket and the leads on the IC device are made.
IC devices which are leadless, or formed with mere terminations in the form of buttons or pads, are otherwise positioned and connected to the test circuit. As illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,859,189 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,783,719, a resilient member presses a flexible circuit tape into contact with the pads on a surface of the IC device or die and electrical contact is made. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,783,719, the device 60 is supported in a top plate 30 which is forced into engagement with one surface of a flexible tape 50. Flexible tape is supported on the base 20 which is mounted on a printed circuit board. The top plate 30 is placed above the support 20 and spring clips 23a and 23b are pivotally mounted on the support 20 and positioned for movement over the top edge surface of the top plate 30. The springs then snap into grooves on the top plate 30 to secure the assembly with the IC pads in engagement with raised beads 52 on the flexible tape, which beads are joined to connector lines 55 of the flexible tape. The invention is well suited for the testing of leadless chip carriers, but may be employed to make solderless touch connections to other electrical devices, such as integrated circuit dice, printed wiring boards and the like.
The devices of the existing systems are not well suited to automation for the test and burn-in of thousands of IC dice. That is, the type of carriers disclosed in either of the later mentioned patents are not suited to automation. A socket for receiving a die placed in a carrier which carrier can then be robotically loaded into the socket is preferable.
The present invention provides a socket structure wherein the IC die having peripheral and/or area disposed patterns of connecting pads can be loaded into a novel carrier for automatic placement and removal from a socket. The construction of the socket allows for ease of insertion and removal automatically. The socket construction affords good electrical contact between the IC pads and an external circuit, which may be afforded by a flexible tape supported by a resilient pad. The carrier is easily loaded automatically in a manner conventional for leaded IC devices.